Author: Elaine Ng 吳逸嵐

     I once listened to an interview with a famous artist, who when asked if she cared whether people knew something about the original influences in her work, replied: “Well, it’s nice if they know, but it doesn’t really matter. Those things were just an excuse for me to get started.”      As an artist, I feel a strong resonance with this statement. I am always looking for an excuse to get started, whether it is conscious or not. I think it’s common to want to ground yourself in something – anything – so that you feel a sense of purpose or direction with your work. Do I need my audience to know and understand this grounding? Not necessarily in its entirety. I aim for my work to impart nonverbal ideas, and for me these ideas stem from a collective knowledge of objects and spaces. To present work that does this, however, generally requires a substantive amount of research, much of which I do not expect an audience to need in order to appreciate my work. If someone decides to dig deeper, they will find themselves rewarded with a greater understanding of my thinking, a richer experience with